Mark Mathews: Big Wave Surfer

Keynote speaker and big wave surfer Mark Mathews, Red Bull athlete, shares resilience, mindset, and high performance strategies to help leaders thrive under pressure and uncertainty.

Quick Facts:

  • Highlights:
    • World-class big wave surfer competing in extreme, high-risk environments
    • Three-time consecutive Oakley Big Wave Awards winner
    • Red Bull athlete with global recognition in action sports
    • Keynote speaker for major organizations including Google, Sony, Intel, and Mastercard
  • Formats: Keynote Speaker and High Performance Expert
  • Audiences: Corporate leaders, executive teams, high-performance organizations, and individuals navigating pressure, uncertainty, and change
  • Outcomes:
    1. Build resilience and mental strength in high-pressure situations
    2. Develop focus and adaptability in rapidly changing environments
    3. Apply practical strategies to sustain peak performance over time
Reading time: 2 min
Reviews: (0 reviews)
  • Travels from: Sydney, NSW
  • **Fee range: $35,001 - $50,000

Talent Services

Keynote Topics:

Riding the world’s biggest waves takes a great deal of courage and resilience. But the courage and resilience it takes to surf big waves is not reserved for a limited number of action sports athletes and adrenaline junkies. It’s available for anyone.

There are people from all walks of life right now in this very moment, displaying more courage than what it takes to surf big waves. How are they doing it? There is a method, a set of principles that sit at the core of all acts of courage. When applied, these principles allow us to live a life without the controlling limitations of fear, a life on our own terms.

As a highly sought after international speaker, Mathews’ surfer chill vibe and magnetic charisma has graced the stages of leading companies world wide. From Google, Sony, Intel to MasterCard, he instantly captures audiences with his epic tales and spectacular surf footage.

Through his career as a professional ‘Big Wave’ surfer and Red Bull Athlete, he has become obsessed with the relationship between personal growth, high performance and fulfilment.

During his Life Beyond Fear keynote, Mark takes the audience through deconstructed, fine-tuned, and personalised emotion and resilience techniques that help successfully strengthen ones mindset and sustain long term performance.

Explore the scientific benefits of vision, meaning, gratitude & the counter intuitive techniques that disrupt negative mental perceptions & increase innovation, drive & performance.

There are two main components to adapting to change & the stress that comes with it: “Embrace And Upgrade” and “Rest And Recover.” Through these two components we can learn how to avoid the “crash and burn” cycle by converting fear-based habits to positive lifestyle patterns.

In the ocean, Mark must always assume that conditions can — and will — unexpectedly change, violently and quickly. Mark and his team must stay hypersensitive to change, continually reassessing conditions, refocusing goals, and updating strategies.

With this agility, Mark and his team can overcome all challenges and succeed in surfing the world’s biggest waves.

Discover how a 10 year old boy terrified of the ocean would go on to become one of the worlds best Big Wave Surfers.

A story so inspiring that is was developed into the 2x AFI award winning movie Fighting Fear, narrated by Hollywood superstar Joel Edgerton.

Full of spectacular real life footage and stories of how Mark has conquered the worlds biggest waves, suffered near death wipe outs and managed to win multiple big wave awards.

This High Impact Presentation Will Help People:

  • Avoid the “crash and burn” cycle by converting fear-­based habits to positive lifestyle patterns
  • Access the mental rewire secrets used by elite athletes: simple and actionable tools that promote nervous system health
  • Discover counter intuitive techniques to disrupt negative mental perceptions to naturally increase innovation and drive

In order to successfully deliver ROI to his sponsors and stay alive at the same time. It is imperative for Mark to surround himself with and be able to lead a phenomenally talented group of individuals. Leveraging they’re skills and talent and intern elevating his own performance and safety.

Through years of leading teams in highly volatile and stressful environments, Mark has come up with a formula to help select and manage the individuals he works with, and also assess his own performance. The Eagle Formula.

In this presentation watch as Mark and his team chase a monster swell to remote Western Australia in an attempt to pull of one of the most Audacious surf shoots in history.

This Presentation Will take a look at:

  • Integrating emotional intelligence and confidence-­based strategies to build resilient and engaged teams
  • What are the most important characteristics individuals need to be good team members
  • Leading others to overcome risk, change and uncertainty in volatile environments
  • Learning how to easily adapt, react, and capture opportunities in high-­risk situations

Mergers, buy-­outs, downsizing: These are just a few of the ways in which companies can transform literally overnight. While these moves often help a company remain competitive, they also result in profound changes to organisational structure or other disruptions to the status quo.

Change can trigger our most basic survival instincts, and even when physical survival is not an issue, it can feel as if it is whenever things change. Our known existence, whether we liked it or not, is replaced by an unknown one, and we become fearful and disoriented.

Helping your employees deal with the Stress and anxiety that comes along with such changes is crucial.

Mark knows all too well the crippling effects of stress and anxiety. While in Tasmania, fifteen feet in front of a cliff in cold, shark infested waters, Mark hit a reef and instantly blacked out. Terror engulfed every inch of his being. Neck braced and hospital-­ridden, he didn’t know if he could ever surf again. At that moment, Mark made a decision never to allow stress and anxiety to put him in this position again.

Through vision of dramatic real life scenarios, this presentation will explore:

  • Techniques to develop Resilience and Courage
  • The benefits of a growth mindset
  • The importance of commitment in implementing Change

Talent Short Bio

Mark Mathews is a world-class big wave surfer, Red Bull athlete, and internationally sought-after keynote speaker known for performing at the edge of human limits. Renowned for conquering some of the most dangerous waves on the planet, he brings a rare and powerful perspective on resilience, mindset, and thriving under extreme pressure.

A three-time consecutive winner of the Oakley Big Wave Awards, Mark has established himself among the elite in his sport. Beyond the accolades, his focus has evolved into understanding how individuals and teams can unlock high performance while maintaining fulfillment and balance.

Mark translates lessons from life-or-death environments into practical, business-ready strategies. His keynote presentations combine gripping storytelling, immersive visuals, and actionable insights that help organizations navigate uncertainty, adapt to stress, and perform when it matters most.

Mark Mathews is a world-class big wave surfer, Red Bull athlete, and internationally sought-after keynote speaker who has built his career at the edge of human performance. Renowned for conquering some of the most dangerous waves on the planet, Mark brings a powerful perspective on resilience, mindset, and thriving under pressure.

A three-time consecutive winner of the Oakley Big Wave Awards, Mark has firmly established himself among the elite in his sport. But beyond the accolades, his true passion lies in understanding the connection between personal growth, high performance, and fulfillment.

Translating lessons from extreme environments into practical strategies, Mark has become a compelling voice for organizations navigating uncertainty and change. Mark Mathews keynote presentations blend adrenaline-fueled storytelling with actionable insights—helping audiences learn how to adapt to stress, build resilience, and perform when it matters most.

With a natural charisma and authentic “surfer calm” presence, Mark has captivated audiences at leading global brands including Google, Sony, Intel, and MasterCard. Through immersive visuals and gripping personal experiences, he creates unforgettable moments that resonate long after the event.

Mark Mathews has spent years deconstructing and refining the principles of emotional resilience, developing techniques that empower individuals and teams to strengthen their mindset and sustain high performance over the long term.

Whether navigating towering waves or high-stakes business environments, Mark Mathews equips audiences with the tools to stay focused, adaptable, and ready to rise to any challenge.

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